Bidspirit auction | [HISTORY] - THEOPHRASTUS (IV-III sec

[HISTORY] - THEOPHRASTUS (IV-III sec BC) - “Theophrastus in Renaissance Paris” - THEOPHRASTUS. De Historia et Causis Plantarum libri X. Theodoro Gaza interprete. Paris, Gilles de Gourmont, 1529. 4to.(165x 110 mm) (18 ), 343, (12) pp Title within an elaborate woodcut border, numerous woodcut initials throughout. Modern full calf, spine with raised bands. First Paris edition of Theophrastus’s fundamental botanical treatise, translated into Latin by Theodorus Gaza. Often called the “father of botany, ” Theophrastus (c. 371–287 BC), Aristotle’s pupil and successor at the Lyceum, produced the earliest systematic classification of plants, describing their structure, uses, and medicinal properties. His Historia plantarum remained the essential reference work on plants until the sixteenth century. This copy contains the first part only (Libri X), complete in itself, and is preserved in perfect condition, with wide margins, crisp impression, and clean leaves. Bound in a handsome modern full calf binding. Complete copies of both parts are extremely rare, with only three examples recorded at auction in recent decades. A fine Renaissance printing of one of the most influential works in the history of natural science.